The best in social research has repeatedly revealed that children fare worse in same-sex environments than in environments in which they are raised by their biological parents who are “married” to each other.

If we care about children, the public policy question on same-sex “marriage” answers itself. We should reject same-sex “marriage” because we love children and want them to grow up in optimal nurturing environments.

More confirmation comes from a new study which has been published in the most recent edition of the British Journal of Education, Society, and Behavioural Science. According to University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus, it “appears to be the largest (study) yet on the matter of same-sex households and children’s emotional outcomes.”

As Regnerus writes,

Results reveal that, on eight out of twelve psychometric measures, the risk of clinical emotional problems, developmental problems, or use of mental health treatment services is nearly double among those with same-sex parents when contrasted with children of opposite-sex parents. The estimate of serious child emotional problems in children with same-sex parents is 17 percent, compared with 7 percent among opposite-sex parents, after adjusting for age, race, gender, and parent’s education and income. Rates of ADHD were higher as well—15.5 compared to 7.1 percent. The same is true for learning disabilities: 14.1 vs. 8 percent.

The study’s author concluded that of all the possible explanations (residential stability, stigma, bullying) for these pronounced differences, “biological parentage…accounted for nearly all of the variation in emotional problems.”

Regnerus adds, “[T]here is no equivalent replacement for the enduring gift to a child that a married biological mother and father offer. It’s no guarantee of success. It’s not always possible. But the odds of emotional struggle at least double without it.”

While the homosexual lobby wants us all to believe otherwise, a careful examination of the best available research demonstrates that every population-based survey reveals the same thing. “Published research employing the New Family Structures Study (NFSS), the ECLS (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study), the US Census (ACS), the Canadian Census, and now the NHIS all reveal a comparable basic narrative, namely, that children who grow up with a married mother and father fare best at face value.”

But the social sciences have become so corrupt that there is no longer any pretense of an objective search for truth. Results are twisted, bent, contorted and misrepresented to serve the interests of the homosexual lobby rather than the truth.

One other salient factor emerges from the research: the comparative instability of same-sex unions. Children need, indeed crave, stability in their home environment. They are enormously vulnerable and utterly dependent on the adults in their world for a sense of security and safety. Yet,”for couples with children, the dissolution rate for same-sex couples is more than double that of heterosexual couples.”

For children, being raised in a same-sex household is “a clear step down, on average, from households that unite children with their own mother and father.”

Regnerus concludes, “Biology matters—as new research released this week confirms—and no amount of legislation, litigation, or cheerleading can alter that.”

Bottom line: there is a one-word answer to the question of whether we should fight the legalization of same-sex “marriage” with every fiber of our being. That word is “children.”

(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)

Bryan Fischer is the Director of Issue Analysis for Government and Public Policy at the American Family Association, where he provides expertise on a range of public policy topics. Described by the New York Times as a "talk-radio natural," he hosts the "Focal Point" radio program on AFR Talk,which airs live on weekdays from 1-3 p.m. Central on American Family Radio's nationwide talk network of 125 stations.
A graduate of Stanford University and Dallas Theological Seminary, Bryan pastored in Idaho for 25 years, during which time he served for one session as the chaplain of the Idaho state senate. He founded the Idaho Values Alliance in 2005, and is a co-author of Idaho's marriage amendment. He has been with AFA since 2009.
In his role as a spokesman for AFA, he has been featured on media outlets such as Fox News, CBS News, NBC, CNN, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, Russia Today television and the Associated Press, has been a frequent guest on talk radio to discuss cultural and religious issues. He has been profiled in publications such as the New York Times, Newsweek, the New Yorker, and BuzzFeed. He has been married to his bride, Debbie, since 1976, and they have two grown children.

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